So I finally ran into my first problem. My Jeff red zoas don't seem to want to open up anymore. They were doing great until about two weeks ago. Water patina are fine. Temp is 83 and salinity is 34 ppt. I started dosing the tank with elos prima 01 alkali a week ago. I haven't noticed any starfish or snails on the polyps or the rock its on so I don't think pests are the cause and there is no debris built up on the colony. The mat and stalks look healthy and are still thick and purple. They look like they try to open up when the lights first come on but never fully do and are closed by the time i get home from work or school. The only changes to the tank are I moved my fire and ice polyps off the sand bed to another rock but that was after this started. And i added an ORA spotted mandarin. Before anyone chastises me for this the fish is eating cyclopese and is acting completely normal. I thought my fish was bothering them but I have never seen it even swim near the colony in question. I also thought maybe it was the cyclopese brcuase I have seen a feeding response from my other corals since I started using it but non have stayed perpetually closed from it. I'm at a loss and really don't want to lose this colony since I got it for my fiance. Any ideas? Oh I also put a ball of chaeto in the box filter to make a pod pile and put two bottles of reef pods tibse in prior to the addition of the fish. Not sure if that would matter.

You have a number of softies now, so it's possible that your iodine is low. You might try dosing with something like Coral Vite and see if that doesn't perk them up. You could also try moving them to a different location... maybe they would like more flow? They are sensitive to changes in salinity and things like that too, and it's not uncommon for colonies to close up for a few days and open up again, especially after waterchanges.

Ok. i moved them a little lower in the tank away from the lights and into an area with a little More flow. Is coral vote just iodine? I dont want to over dose the other elements if you think all I need is some iodine. All the other corals are doing fine.

The reds have started to open up now that I moved them. They still haven't openned fully but theu are openning more than before and staying open. I got two waters snails and two blue leg hermits to help control my sudden algal bloom. Didn't end up getting iodine yet as I want to see how the reds do and see if it was just a spot issue. Will adding iodine speed up growth? Anyway ill try to get some pics of the mandarin and the whole tank later tonight to show you all how its going. This little adventure made me decide I'm turning the 45 in my basement back home into a reef once I have room for it.

Coral Vite also contains a variety of other trace elements, in small quantities. I use it in my tank, but iodine overdose is definitely a concern, so it is not something I dose on a weekly basis like the directions on the bottle recommend. I will dose the tank if the corals look like they need a pick-me-up, and the results are improved color and growth. That said, I have a small tank that is packed full of softies and have issues with certain polyps growing faster than others and outcompeting them for resources, so if your corals are currently doing fine without supplementation I wouldn't worry about it.

Ok thanks. Yeah the kedd reds are looking alot better now that I moved them. My orange and green zoas look like they have grown since I got them and my GSP looks awesome. I'm hoping they all completely grow over the rocks they're on and I get a nice colorful tank full of corals.

So i see some bubble algae starting....damn it. One of the blue legs died, it looked like it was trying to change shells and someone got to it before it found it's new home. Not sure who could have because I didn't think my mandarin would go after it, so I either have something hiding in my tank, or a very ambitious mandarin.

I'm thoroughly confused. I know I saw a hermit crab carcass yesterday morning, but i just saw both hermits up and walking around this morning. Wtf? Self cloning crabs? Lol. No idea what's going on here but I'm glad both are alive. I also think I may have found a small colony of aiptasia. I have yet to do the poke test and I only ever see them first thing in the morning. Is there a safe way to gey rid of it? I know there are chemicals but I only use those s a last resort and I've heard peppermint shrimp eat them but I don't want to add any more animals to the tank. More pics will come tonight. Finally found my camera cord and i hooe the pics won't turn out so blue.

I was thinking that too but it looked too solid and actually had coloration in it. Maybe I'm just too used to how shrimp shed because I've always seen their sheds be clear. Lol. Trying to figure out how to gey rid of the bubble algae with out using an emerald crab but not having much luck so far. I'm pretty sure the stuff I saw is aiptasia. There are three polyps of it next to my orange zoas but they don't seem to he bothered both each other yet. I think I see new growth on the kedd redsn ill try to get some pics tonight. Got distracted this weekend by throwing the fiance a birthday party.